


Stop Running

by PurpleWombat14481



Series: Avengers AU [3]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Avengers, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-26
Updated: 2015-01-26
Packaged: 2018-03-09 03:53:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3235298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleWombat14481/pseuds/PurpleWombat14481
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The life of a superhero isn't easy. Being hopelessly in love doesn't help things at all.</p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br/>Avengers AU. Tao is Hawkeye, Minseok is the Hulk, and Chanyeol is our dear Captain America. Everyone else will be revealed at some point. Both the movies and the comics were influences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Hawkeye, you okay up there?” Captain America asked over their comm system, making sure the archer was still perched above the city and the battle currently going on.

“I’m fine Cap. I’m trying to get a lock on either Viper or Enchantress. Seems like you guys have it covered though.” Came the rather nonchalant reply. The team leader didn’t respond after that, too engaged in the battle himself.

Tao scanned the streets below him, searching for a clear shot at either villain, bow in hand. Honestly, he was kind of bored, since there were only two bad guys and twelve superheroes, he was not as necessary as normal. Boredom led to a distraction, also known as thinking about a certain tiny teammate to avoid thinking about how useless he felt sometimes. He was so preoccupied with how Minseok had smiled at him for the first time ever that morning that he didn't notice that Enchantress was nowhere to be seen.

He was thinking about Minseok's eyes when an energy blast came from behind, throwing him off of the roof. Tao braced himself for certain death. He fell towards the ground, bow flying from his hands and arrows freefalling from the quiver on his back. His eyes closed tightly.

Instead of impacting the unforgiving pavement, what Tao hit felt a lot more like a large, muscled chest. He didn’t need to open his eyes to know that is was the Hulk who had just saved his life. His fragile human body was going to be massively bruised in the morning, but at least the archer would get to live to see it. Big green eyes were watching him almost scared when he finally worked through the pain enough to be able to open his own. He tried to not hope that it was actually Minseok’s emotions bleeding through to the surface, but it was futile. Any sign that the rage monster’s alter ego may care for him too was always blown out of proportion in Tao’s head.

Tao was set on the ground, surprisingly gently, in the middle of a park a bit away from the main part of the battle. He was confused. “Hey, big guy, I’m a part of the battle too, remember?”

“Cupid go home.” The Hulk told him, pointing in the direction of the mansion.

“No can do bud.” The archer replied, trying to walk back in the direction of the team. A green hand and a loud growl stopped his progress.

“Home.” Tao was picked up again and set down facing the opposite direction. He grumbled to himself, but decided that it was better not to mess with someone who could crush you with one finger. Satisfied, the Hulk bounded back into the middle of the fighting.

Halfway home, Tao realized that he lost his bow and arrows in the fall, and that all he had on him was an empty quiver. “That’s why he sent me home.” He grumbled to himself. “Not because he was worried, but because I’m now useless.” His good mood, which had been slightly elevated at the concern he had thought he saw in the Hulk’s eyes, was gone, replaced with hatred for his normal human weaknesses.

The walk back to Avengers Mansion went slowly, as Tao dragged his feet and listened to the sounds of the battle behind him. Without his weapons there was nothing he could do, not against supervillains, and he had left everything but his bow at home. Lost in his thoughts, he almost didn’t hear the blaring car horn next to him. His attention was drawn towards the street, where a car was barreling towards a wolf, making no attempt to slow down or stop. The archer’s excellent hearing picked up on the sickening crack as the animal was hit by the vehicle, being thrown to the sidewalk on the side. The car just drove away.

Tao ran towards the injured animal, hoping there was any chance to save it. The wolf, or it may have been a larger dog, was alive and breathing, but one of its paws was twisted and it was bleeding. He carefully scooped up the dog, trying to avoid jostling its injuries, and walked as fast as he could to the nearest veterinary hospital. The battle was gone from his mind.

Several vets took the dog from his arms soon after he walked through the doors to the building. The professionals and the animal disappeared into the back of the hospital. Tao tried to follow but was stopped by a receptionist.

“I’m sorry, Sir. But you can’t go back there right now.” She told him, genuinely looking apologetic. “I need you to fill out some paperwork and answer some questions anyway.” She pulled out a couple forms from behind her desk. “Is he yours?”

“Ah, no. I just happened to be passing by when he got hit by the car. The bastard didn’t even attempt to slow down or stop, and just kept going even after hitting the poor dog.” Tao told her angrily, filling out the forms like he could take his anger out on the paper. The nurse glanced at her cell phone when it went off.

“Well, he’s in pretty bad shape. A broken leg, bruised ribs, lots of bleeding. We can fix him, but he has no collar, and no chip in his shoulder. It looks like he’s a stray.” Tao gave her a confused look, one that said ‘why are you telling me this right now.’ “If we take care of him, he’s going to need a home. We can’t just release him back onto the streets, or take him to a shelter in the condition he’ll be in. He’s going to need someone to care for him.”

“Oooohhh. Okay. I can take him. It’s no problem. I was considering getting a dog anyway.” Tao assured her. The rest of the team probably should have been consulted first, but the dog would be Tao’s anyway, so it was his decision.

“Okay, good. I’ll tell them to go on with the procedure then.” The nurse sent a quick text to what must have been one of the vets in the back with the dog. “He should be ready to take home within an hour or two, if you want to wait here. The broken leg seems to be the worst of his injuries. I’ll get you the official forms for pet adoption.”

Tao took the newest stack of papers to a chair in the lobby. He considered sending a text to someone on the team to let them know where he was, but if they were worried they would contact him first. The lack of anything meant they were either still in the battle, or just didn’t care. He shook his head to rid himself of negative thoughts and focused on the adoption forms instead. Most of the questions were very simple, information about Tao, his job, and his home situation. His superhero identity was public, not that most people recognised him, so he could put down SHIELD agent. The only thing that gave him pause was a name for the dog, as the nurse had written down the breed, Czechoslovakian Wolfdog, before giving him the forms. The archer thought long and hard about a potential name for such a wild looking dog, before settling on Sweet Potato. No one ever said that Tao made sense.

After handing the forms in at the front desk, Tao settled back in one of the lobby chairs periodically checking his phone. After roughly an hour, a text from an unknown number popped up, asking where he was. He was about to ask who was texting him when one of the vets who had been in the back came out, carrying the newly dubbed Sweet Potato. Tao quickly forgot about the text and got up to take the - his - dog.

“He is going to make a full recovery. Just make sure he has a cushioned place to sleep and doesn’t move around too much.” The vet instructed. Tao nodded in understanding. “Okay. You will get the bill in the mail within a couple of days. Don’t feel too rushed with paying, you have a couple of weeks, and I know having a new pet can be difficult. Here’s a list of how you should feed him, both during recovery and after.” Tao found a piece of paper being shoved into his hands.

“Thank you.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

Tao left the vets and carefully walked all the way back to the mansion, several blocks away. It was a good thing that he was in top human physical condition, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to carry Sweet Potato nearly that far. He was met by several of his teammates the minute he walked through the door.

“Where did you go? You just disappeared! ...is that a dog?” Chanyeol asked, first all in his face before he backed away. “Try to keep the hair all over the mansion to a minimum. Please.” The team leader disappeared down the hall to the living room, leaving a somewhat confused Tao standing there with Baekhyun and Minseok.

“The dog is cute. Ignore Chanyeol, he’s just allergic.” Baekhyun told him, petting the sleeping dog’s head for a second before following his boyfriend. As he left, Tao noticed Minseok looking at him with a displeased expression.

“What?” He growled, despite his maybe crush on his teammate, Tao was carrying an injured pet and he just wanted to go lay down. He headed towards his room, forcing Minseok to follow if he wanted to talk.

“I told you to go home, not take a detour and rescue some stray.” The shapeshifter told him, trailing behind.

“The Hulk did. Not you. The reminder that I’m useless really brought my spirits up by the way.” Tao spat back at him. Minseok stopped following after that, stilling in the hallway.

Opening the door was difficult with a fifty-some pound dog in his hands, but Tao managed it anyway. He carefully placed his new pet on one side of the bed before going back to close the door. He could have sworn he heard a mutter of “You’re not useless” as the door swung shut.

Getting ready for bed, despite it only being around ten o’clock at night, Tao made a mental list of what he would have to do the next day. The list was comprised of getting food and a leash for Sweet Potato, asking Suho about installing an electric fence around the yard, and probably apologizing for snapping at Minseok. Definitely apologizing to Minseok, if he ever wanted to have the chance to even go on one date with the other man. He flopped on his side of the bed, careful of his new roommate.

“Welcome to the family, Sweet Potato.” Tao murmured to his dog, patting him on the head before falling asleep as well.  

* * *

  
  


Tao woke up the next morning slightly disoriented, with a warm head lying on his chest. Confused, he opened his eyes to see Sweet Potato staring back at him. Tao spent a few minutes just waking up and petting his new dog before realizing that he should probably work on getting supplies. There was a knock at the door.

Mentally cursing the visitor, the man pushed himself off of his bed and went to the door, helping his dog onto the floor on the way. Sweet Potato dutifully followed his new owner to the door. Out in the hall, the person who had knocked was nowhere to be found. Tao was about to just close the door and actually get ready for the day, when Sweet Potato nudged past him and started sniffing what looked like a pile of pet supplies. Tao looked closer and found that all of the supplies he was going to need, including dog toys and treats, were there. On top of the pile was a note.

 

Tao,

Sehun had grabbed the food information when you walked through the door last night. I figured the least I could do was go out and buy you supplies so that you could take care of your injured dog.

~ Minseok

 

Tao smiled to himself at the note, slightly giddy over the fact that Minseok had thought about him. Maybe he did actually care. Tao’s thoughts about his teammate were once again cut short, this time by Sweet Potato whining and pawing at the bag of dog food. The archer understood and brought all of the pet supplies into his rather large room, setting the dog bowls near the wall. Once Sweet Potato had food and water, Tao got himself ready for the day, changing out of his dirty Hawkeye outfit from the night before and into a more comfortable pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Then he sat back down on his bed, content to watch his dog explore.

“He’s wonderful, Sweet Potato. The man who bought us the supplies. His scent is probably all over them, to you anyway.” The wolfdog’s ears perked in attention when his new owner started talking. “He smiled at me for the first time yesterday. It made my heart flutter a bit. I love his smile, he has the most adorable teeth and his cheeks puff out into a ball of cute, but I can count the number of times I’ve actually seen a real one. I’ve made it my mission to make him laugh. I’ll bet he has a beautiful laugh, though i’ve never heard it. Hey, maybe you could help me!”

“So basically, I kind of have a crush on him. We’ve been working together for almost a year now, since the team started, and I really noticed him that day in England. When I brought him in he had wide eyes and messy hair. He was blond then, and he looked great, but I am kinda glad he dyed it back to its natural color, suits him much better. It was his eyes I noticed first though, they’re gorgeous. I mean, most people would probably say they’re nothing special or something, but there’s this spark of life in them that refuses to be ignored. He’s so sweet and selfless and caring and I want to cuddle with him. Squish his cheeks and cuddle. And maybe make out. But really, he’s adorable and gorgeous and perfect. And I just--”

“Oh shit. I’m in love with him.”

By the time Tao finished telling Sweet Potato about Minseok and coming to the conclusion that he was, in fact, in love, the dog had made his way over to Tao and started staring at him wide eyed. “What is it boy?” Realizing he finally had his owner’s attention, Sweet Potato ran over to grab the leash and collar from where they had been dropped and brought them back to the bed. “A walk? Good idea.”

After a few seconds of Tao figuring out how to correctly put the collar on his dog, the pair managed to get it together and head into the hall. Sweet Potato obediently stayed at Tao’s side as they made their way through the mansion and outside.

 


	2. Chapter 2

“FUCK.” Minseok cursed to himself as he fell back onto his bed after returning from Tao’s room. He glanced at the always-packed bag in the corner of the room, deciding that he needed to leave. He would be sad to go, but Minseok felt like he was pushing his luck already and he needed to leave before the Hulk could hurt anyone. Before he could hurt Tao.

Groaning, Minseok pushed himself back up out of bed. The middle of the day was as good of a time as any to run away, since when not actively on a mission everyone pretty much stayed inside the mansion. He grabbed the bag from the corner and quickly left the mansion.

He wasn’t even halfway across the back yard before a loud bark made him stop. Turning towards the source of the noise, Minseok saw Sweet Potato running towards him, slightly limping and leash dragging on the ground, with an amused looking Tao trailing behind. The dog finally stopped and sat down when he was right in front of Minseok’s feet.

"Hey." Tao greeted when he caught up, petting Sweet Potato's head for a second. He looked kind of sheepish. "I wanted to apologise for snapping at you last night."

Minseok felt slightly awkward, since any conversation, especially one with Tao, had been exactly what he wanted to avoid. "It's okay."

"And." Tao went on. "I wanted to thank you for the pet supplies. I really--" He cut himself off when he noticed the bag the older man was holding. The smile faded from his face. "Are you leaving?"

Minseok hesitated for a second before answering. “Yes. I’ve stayed in one place for a year, and there haven’t been any incidents with the Hulk yet. I’m pushing my luck. I need to go. Sorry.” He turned and started walking away, but was stopped by a hand grabbing his wrist.

“You’ve stayed for a year and there have been no incidents. Shouldn’t that be a good thing? Instead of running away, shouldn’t you continue to be here for the team?” Tao questioned, too stubborn to just let the shorter man leave. “You, the Hulk, saved my life yesterday. I wouldn’t be here right now to stop you if it wasn’t for him.”

“Just because he did one thing right, doesn’t mean that its safe for me to stay here around everyone.” Minseok retorted, refusing to look Tao in the face. He knew that if he saw the wounded puppy dog look that Tao was most likely wearing he wouldn’t be able to cross the yard and disappear from the city. “Let me go.”

“No. We need you, Minseok. Not just the Hulk. Suho would have blown up the mansion ten times over already this year if you hadn’t been there to be the cautious one. Half of my techno whatever-you-called-them arrows wouldn’t exist if you weren’t here being your smart sciency self. Stay. Please.” Tao pleaded. Even Sweet Potato seemed agitated, shifting slightly from his spot on the grass.

“I can’t!” Minseok tore his wrist free and closed his eyes. For a few moments all he focused on was his breathing, trying to return his heart rate back to normal after being so close to Tao and the stress of getting caught leaving. “He’s going to hurt someone, I just know it. He can’t cause anyone any harm if I’m alone. I’m sorry.”

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say, as Tao’s pleading eyes shifted into something slightly more angry. “You’ll be causing yourself unnecessary pain if you run away.”

“It IS necessary. I have to put the safety of others before my own happiness. But I don’t expect you, someone who has always put himself first, to understand that.” Minseok’s goal was never to hurt Tao, but if he had to in order to run and keep the younger man safe, he would. Tao’s slightly angry expression turned murderous.

“I had to put myself first in order to survive to even get to this point. You don’t even know how many times I would have died if I had thought about other people first. Thats a hard habit to break. I’m just a normal human, so I have to think of my own safety first now even as an Avenger. You, on the other hand, use the safety of others as an excuse to run away.”

“That’s not--”

“I may be a selfish, stubborn, insecure bastard, but you’re just as bad. “ Tao cut the shapeshifter off.

“You don’t know anything.” Minseok growled out, no longer trying to run. The anger had started to take over. Green blurred his vision, and the words escaping were no longer completely his own, but it was too late for him to stop.

“I’m not as stupid as everyone thinks I am. I know that you think that everyone elses’ lives are more valuable than your own. I know that you never meant to stay here for more than a few days. I know that you actually enjoy being here with the team. Just be selfish for once and let yourself be happy.”

“You just don’t get it! I can’t-- Shit. SHIT NOT NOW.” Everything was suddenly green as Minseok fell to his knees clutching at his head. “Tao, run!”

“I’m not running just so that you can disappear from my life.”

“RUN.” Minseok yelled, before his vision turned to black and his body started to change.

The small man’s skin rippled green as he grew and the Hulk took control. Tao’s eyes widened as he saw the change start to take place. A growl from his side made the archer avert his eyes to where his dog was now standing to his right. The slight distraction was long enough for the change into the Hulk to complete. When Tao turned to look back at his teammate, a large hand, the same hand that had saved him from harm less than twenty-four hours earlier, smacked him across the yard into the side of the mansion.

Tao’s vision blurred and he felt pain all over. The last thing he saw before passing out was a large green blur heading in the general area of the woods.

 

 


End file.
